If you’ve never been to one of our Hackathons, here’s what you need to know: once you’re in, you’ve got just shy of 24 hours to build the best, most incredible thing you and your self-selected team can build from the ground up.

At the end of the crazy, exhausting, overnight sprint, you’ve got 60 seconds to pitch your team’s hack in a battle for fame, glory, and a bunch of crazy prizes. The top team takes home $5,000 dollars in cash, and the top three teams get to present their projects in front of the massively influential audience at the main Disrupt conference. There will also be a bunch of fantastic prizes from our API sponsors, but we’ll announce those in just a few weeks

So, what should you build? Something amazing. Something clever. Something that shows just how crazy talented you and your teammates are. Remember: this is a Hackathon. Our judges wont be looking for the thing with the best potential business model — they’re looking for something that makes them stop and say “Whoa.”

We’re changing things up a bit this time around. Since it’s our first big event outside of the US in some time, we’re keepin’ the attendee list for this Hackathon a bit smaller than its stateside counterparts. We’ve got a newly polished set of rules to keep things fair and to help make sure everyone at the event has a great time and, like all of TechCrunch’s upcoming events, our anti-harassment policy is in full effect here.

Oh, and just to sweeten the deal a bit more: even if you don’t take one of the top three spots or win one of the awesome API sponsor prizes, there’s still something great up for grabs. Each of the top 40-or-so teams (with the final number depending on how many teams enter) who present will get two tickets to the entirety of the Disrupt Europe conference, normally valued at nearly $1k each. Why? Because we think you’re rad.

As long as you’re building something, participating in the Hackathon is free. Interested sponsors, give us a shout.